God the Sovereign Disposer
1 Sam. 2:6, 7.—The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifteth up.
HESIOD.—
With ease the will of Jove, who wills the right,
Confounds the mighty, gives the feeble might;
With ease draws forth th' obscure to open day,
With ease bids envied grandeur waste away.
—Opera et Dies, v. 5.
1 Sam. 3:13.—For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
HOMER.—
Ye fathers, hear! from you alone proceed
The ills ye mourn; your own the guilty deed.
Ye gave your sons, your lawless sons, the rein,
Oft warned by Mentor and myself in vain.
—Odyss., 1. xxiv., V. 455
Tokens of Grief
1 Sam. 4:12.—And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent and with earth upon his head.
VIRGIL.—
Latinus tears his garments as he goes,
Both for his public and his private woes:
With filth his venerable beard besmears,
And sordid dust deforms his silver hairs.
Æneid, 1. xii., v. 609.
HOMER.—
A sudden horror shot through all the chief,
And wrapp'd his senses in a cloud of grief.
Cast on the ground, with furious, hands he spread
The scorching ashes o'er his graceful head:
His purple garments, and his golden hairs,
Those he deforms with dust, and these with tears.
—Odyss., 1. xviii., V. 22.
Ashdod
1 Sam. 5:1—And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.
REV. WILLIAM LATHAM BEVAN, M. A.—Ashdod, one of the five confederate cities of the Philistines, was situated about thirty miles from the southern frontier of Palestine, three from the Mediterranean Sea, and nearly midway between Gaza and Joppa. It stood on an elevation overlooking the plain, and the natural advantages of its position were improved by fortifications of great strength. For this reason it was probably selected as one of the seats of the national worship of Dagon. It is now an insignificant village, with no memorials of its ancient importance, but is still called Esdud.—Smith's Dict. of Bible, p. 171.
Dagon, the Fish-God
1 Sam. 5:4.—And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump (margin, the fishy part) of Dagon was left to him.
DR. JOHN KITTO, F. S. A.—In common history, Dagon, the Philistine idol, is spoken of under the names Derceto, or Derketo, or Dercetis. —Pictorial Bible, In loco.
LUCIAN.— Of Derketo I saw in Phenicia a drawing, in which she is represented in a curious form, for in the upper half she is a woman, but from the waist to the lower extremities runs into the tail of a fish. A fish is held sacred in Hierapolis, and is never eaten-a custom which seems to have been introduced in honor of Derketo.—De Dea Syria, c. 14.
DIODORUS SICULUS.—At Ascalon, in Syria, is a deep lake abounding with fish, near to which is a temple dedicated to a famous goddess, who by the Syrians is called Dercetis. She has the face of a woman, but the rest of the image is the figure of a fish.—Diod Sic., 1. ii., c. I.
PROF. H. B. TRISTRAM, LL. D., F. R. S.—Dagon, i. e., the fish, had many temples, the most famous of which were those of Gaza and Ashdod. He was represented with the face and hands of a man and the body of a fish. Thus we read, that when the ark of the Lord had been brought as a trophy into the temple of Dagon at Ashdod, " In the morning the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump (Hebrew, only the fishy part) of Dagon was left to him." We find from 1 Mac. x. 84, that the worship of Dagon remained in Philistia even down to the epoch of the Hasmoneans, who destroyed the temple of Ashdod. —Nat. Hist. of the Bible, p. 293.
AUSTEN H. LAYARD, M. P.—On the northern side of the chamber were two doorways leading into separate apartments. Each entrance was formed by two colossal bas-reliefs of Dagon, or the fish-god. Unfortunately the upper part of all these figures had been destroyed, but as the lower remained from above the waist we can have no difficulty in restoring the whole, especially as the same image is seen entire on a fine Assyrian cylinder of agate in my possession. It combined the human shape with that of the fish. The head of the fish formed a miter above that of the man, whilst its scaly back and fan-like tail fell as a cloak behind, leaving the human limbs and feet exposed. The figure wore a fringed tunic, and bore the two sacred emblems, the basket and the cone. His worship appears to have extended over Syria, as well as Mesopotamia and Chaldea.—Nineveh and Babylon, p. 292, 295.
Emerods
1 Sam. 5:6.—But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.
HERODOTUS.—On the Scythian, who plundered the temple of Venus, and indeed on all their posterity, the deity entailed a fatal punishment, namely, hemorrhoids. Their condition may be seen by those who visit Scythia, where they are called Enaræ.—Herod, 1. i., c. 105.
Mice
1 Sam. 6:5.—Your mice that mar the land.
REV. HENRY J. VAN-LENNEP, D. D.—The short-tailed field-mouse, as he is called by naturalists, abounds throughout Western Asia. A perfectly trustworthy friend has informed us that in 1863, being on the farm (chiflik) of an acquaintance in Western Asia Minor, he saw about noon the depredations committed by an immense number of these mice, which passed over the ground like an army of young locusts. Fields of standing corn and barley disappeared in an incredibly short space of time; and as for vines and mulberry trees, they were gnawed at the roots and speedily prostrated. The annual produce of a farm of one hundred and fifty acres, which promised to be unusually large, was thus utterly consumed; and the neighboring farms suffered equally. Such, in all probability, were the mice that marred the land of the Philistines.—Bible Lands, p. 287.
Carts
1 Sam. 6:7.—Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart.
REV. HENRY WRIGHT PHILLOTT, M. A.—In the monuments of ancient Egypt representations are found of carts with two wheels, having four or six spokes, used for carrying produce, and of one for religious purposes having four wheels with eight spokes. A bas-relief of Nineveh represents a cart having two wheels with eight spokes, drawn by oxen.—Smith's Dict. of the Bible, p. 392.
Presents
1 Sam. 9:7.—Then said Saul unto his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring the man of God.
MAUNDREL. —It is counted uncivil to visit in this country (the East) without an offering in hand. All great men expect it as a kind of tribute due to Mei, character and authority, and look upon themselves as affronted, and even defrauded, when this compliment is omitted. Even in familiar visits among inferior people, you shall seldom have them come without bringing a flower, an orange, or some other such token of their respect to the person visited.—In Pict. Bib. In loco.
Kingly Stature
1 Sam. 10:23, 24.—And when Saul stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people. And all the people shouted and said, God save the king.
REV. THOMAS S. MILLINGTON, B. A.—In early times, when the welfare of a people depended much upon the military prowess of their king, and when physical strength and courage were more prized than other accomplishments, it was an essential qualification of a king that he should be of a handsome and commanding appearance; possessing, as Euripides says, " a beauty worthy of his royal state."—Test. of Heath., p. 178.
DR. JOHN KITTO. —Antiquity is replete with exhibitions of this feeling. In the sculptures of Egypt and Persia, the king is usually distinguished by his size and stature from the persons with whom he is associated-not, of course: that the kings were always, or even generally, thus actually distinguished from their subjects; but they were so represented, in conformity with the ideas of dignity as associated with colossal proportions.—. Bib. In loco.
HOMER.—
What chief is that, with giant strength endued,
Whose brawny shoulders, and whose swelling chest,
And lofty stature, far exceed the rest?
Ajax the great, (the beauteous queen replied),
Himself a host: the Grecian strength and pride.
—Iliad, 1. iii., v. 166. etc.
HERODOTUS. —Among the Ethiopians the supreme authority is given to him who excels all his fellow-citizens in size and proportionate strength.—Herod., 1. iii., c. 20.
PLUTARCH.—Theophrastus tells us the Ephori fined Archidamus for marrying a little woman; “She will bring us," said they, "a race of kinglings instead of kings."—Agesil., C. 2.
Destruction of the Right Eye
1 Sam. 11:2.—And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel.
JOSEPHUS. —Nahash also reduced their cities into slavery; and that not only by subduing them for the present, which he did by force and violence; but weakened them by subtlety and cunning, that they might not be able afterward to get clear of the slavery they were under to him; for he put out the right eyes of those that either delivered themselves to him upon terms, or were taken by him in war: and this he did that when their left eyes were covered by their shields, they might be wholly useless in war.—Antiquities, B. II., c. 5, § a.
Gibeah and Michmash
1 Sam. 13:2.—Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel: whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Jonathan.
MR. GEORGE GROVE, Cryst. Pal.—Gibeah still bears its ancient title—Jeba, and is situated on the south side of the Wady Suweinit; and Michmash is still called Mukhmas.—Smith's Dict. of the Bible, p. 915.
1 Sam. 13:5, 6.—And the Philistines came up and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Belhaven. And when the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed), then the people did hide themselves in caves and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places and in pits.
PROF. H. B. TRISTRAM, LL. D., F. R. S.—Just across another wady, with many old caves and tombs, rises the indisputable Michmash, preserving its identity of name in the Arabic Mukhmas, once a fortress, now a squalid village. We did not visit it this time, but on a subsequent occasion explored its neighborhood, with the caves in which Saul's army hid themselves after the Philistines had driven them out of the citadel, and the ravine up which the king returned from Gilgal to Gibeah (1 Sam. 13:6). The ruins are, if possible, more desolate, but more massive, than those of Ai or of Beth-el, and the city seems, by the fragments of columns, as well as by two large rock-hewn cisterns, to have continued to a later date.—Land of Israel, p. 169.
Sacrifice on the Eve of Battle
1 Sam. 13:12.—Therefore said I, the Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced myself, therefore, and offered a burnt-offering.
REV. THOMAS S. MILLINGTON, B. A.—Sacrifices in the prospect of a battle were common among all nations.—Testim. of Heath., p. 180.
XENOPHON. —Cyrus being about to carry war into the territory of the Armenians, presently made a sacrifice for his intended march. It happened that the sacrifice for his design against the Armenians turned out happily, so he immediately set forward as if for a hunt.—Cyrop., 1. ii., c. 4.
IDEM.—Xenophon, being in danger from the governor of Byzantium, sacrificed, in order to know whether the gods would allow him to carry the army over to Seuthes.—Anabasis, 1. vii., c. 2.
Pomegranate Tree
1 Sam. 14:2.—And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron.
DR. W. M. THOMSON.—There are some pomegranate bushes in this neighborhood (Hebron) which may even be called trees by way of courtesy; but LI reality these large and delicious " apples " grow on a stout thorny bush. There are several kinds of them in this country.—Land and the Book, Vol. II., p. 392.
The Passage of Michmash
1 Sam. 14:4, 5.—And between the passages by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. The fore front of the one was situated northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah.
DR. ROBINSON.—We left Jeba (Gibeah) for Mukhmas. The descent into the valley was steeper and longer than any of the preceding. The path led down obliquely, and we reached the bottom in half an hour. It is called Wady es-Suweinit. It begins in the neighborhood of Beitin and el-Beireh; and as it breaks through the ridge below these places, its sides form precipitous walls. On the right, about a quarter of an acre below where we crossed, it again breaks off, and passes between high perpendicular precipices, which (our guide said) continue a great way down and increase in grandeur. This steep precipitous valley is probably “the passage of Michmash " mentioned in Scripture (1 Sam. 13:23). In the valley, just at the left of where we crossed, were two hills, of a conical, or rather spherical form, having steep rocky sides, with small Wadys running up between each, so as almost to isolate them. One of them is on the side towards Jeba, and the other towards Mukhmas. These would seem to be the two rocks mentioned in connection with Jonathan's adventure. They are not indeed so “sharp" as the language of Scripture would seem to imply; but they are the only rocks of the kind in this vicinity. The northern one is connected towards the west with an eminence still more distinctly isolated. This valley appears to have been, at a later time, the dividing line between Benjamin and Ephraim.—Biblical Researches in Palestine, Vol. II., p. 116.
Panic
1 Sam. 14:15, 16.—And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked; so it was a very great trembling. And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.
REV. THOMAS S. MILLINGTON.—There are numerous instances in the ancient historians and poets of armies seized with sudden terror, without any assignable cause. These panic fears were attributed to the influence of an unfriendly deity. Homer makes Phoebus the cause of such perturbations; and he also represents Jove as striking terror into the Grecian hosts by thunderings and prodigies.—Test. of Heath., p. 181.
PINDAR.—By heaven-sent terrors, even the sons of the gods are put to flight. Nemean, IX., v. 64.
HERODOTUS.—The most conspicuous things are those which are singled out as objects of divine displeasure. From the same principle it is that a mighty army is sometimes overthrown by one that is contemptible, for the Deity in his anger sends his terrors among them, and makes them perish in a manner unworthy of their former glory.—Herodt., 1. vii., c. 10.
HOMER.—
Thus joyful Troy maintain'd the watch of night,
While fear, pale comrade of inglorious flight,
And heaven-bred horror, on the Grecian part,
Sat on each face, and sadden'd every heart.
—Iliad, 1. ix., v. I.
Dropping Honey
1 Sam. 14:26.—And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped: but no man put his hand to his mouth; for the people feared the oath.
REV. JOSEPH ROBERTS, M. R. A. S.—Bees in the East are not, as in England, kept in hives; they are all in a wild state. The forests literally flow with honey; large combs may be seen hanging on the trees as you pass along, full of honey. Hence this article is cheap and plentiful, and is much used by the Vedahs to preserve the flesh of animals which they catch in the chase.—Oriental Illustrations, p. 163.
Paternal Sterness
1 Sam. 14:43, 44.—Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and lo I must die. And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.
LIVY.—Titus Manlius, having accepted the challenge of Geminius, in disobedience to the commands of his father, who had ordered that no person should fight with any of the enemy, except at his post, slew his antagonist, and brought the spoils, and laid them at his father's feet. The consul, turning from him, ordered an assembly to be called, and having reproved him for his insubordination, passed sentence of death upon him.—See Livy, lib. viii., c. 7.
PLUTARCH.—Brutus suffered not pity in the least to smooth his stern and angry countenance, regarding his sons as they suffered with a threatening aspect, till they were extended on the ground and their heads cut off with the axe—. Publicola, c. 6.
Obedience Better Than Sacrifice
1 Sam. 15:22.—And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in sacrifices and burnt offerings, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
PLAUTUS. —Those wicked wretches, who take it into their heads that they can pacify Jove with gifts and sacrifices, lose both their cost and labor, nothing of this kind being acceptable to him from the perjured and false-hearted.—Rudens, Prolog.
Hewing Agag
1 Sam. 15:33. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
KHORSABAD SCULPTURE.—One of Botta's plates of these sculptures offers both a proof and an illustration of the terrible deed recorded in this verse. In it, three individuals, each armed with a hatchet, are busy hacking at the limbs of a figure, from which they have already separated th€ arms of their devoted victim.—Bot., plate 140.
The Influence of Music
1 Sam. 16:23.—And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
AULUS GELLIUS. —It has been credited by many, and has been handed down to memory, that when the pains of sciatica are most severe, they will be assuaged by the soft notes of a flute-player. Democritus says that the melody of flutes is a remedy for many human complaints. So great is the sympathy betwixt the minds and bodies of men, and betwixt the maladies and remedies of mind and body.—Noctes Attica, II., 13.
QUINTILIAN. —Music of that kind, which is founded on rational principles, i of the greatest efficacy in raising or soothing the passions.—Quintil., 1. i. c. 10.
REV. HENRY HAYMAN, B. D.—Music., which soothed Saul for a time, ha entered largely into the milder modern treatment of lunacy.—Smith's Dict. 4 the Bible, p. 1866.
David's Combat with Goliath
1 Sam. 17:1-3.—Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekeh in Ephesdammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. And the Philistine stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side; an there was a valley between them.
PROF. J. LESLIE PORTER, A. M.—The morning sun had already bathed in ruddy light the mountain tops round Beit Nettif, and thrown their shadows far out across Philistia's plain, when mounting our horses we began the steep descent, through terraced vineyards and olive groves, to "the Valley of Elah.” a long reach of the valley lay at our feet. It is about a quarter of a mile wide with rich, alluvial bottom, and sides rising steeply, but not precipitously, to the height of five hundred feet or more. Through the center winds a torrent bed, now dry, but thickly covered with smooth, white stones, and fringed with shrubs. On reaching the valley we turned to the right and rode about a mile down it through corn fields. Then we saw on the left bank above us the gray ruins of Shochoh, and we knew that we now stood on the battle-field of David and Goliath. We saw the position of the two armies at a single glance. The Philistines, were ranged along the side of the ridge at Shochoh, and Israel occupied the declivity opposite. Between them lay the valley,—then called Elah from its terebinth trees; and now Sumps, from its acacias. Down that left bank came Goliath, his brazen armor glittering in the sun-beams; down the opposite bank came David with his sling and staff. Reaching the torrent bed, he selected “five smooth stones," and put them in his scrip.—Giant Cities of Bashan, p. 222.
1 Sam. 17:4.—And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
HERODOTUS.—Near this place (Tegea), as I was sinking a well, I found a coffin seven cubits long. I never believed that men were formerly of larger dimensions than at present; but when I opened it, I discovered a body equal in length to the coffin. I correctly measured it, and placed it again where I had found it.—Herodt., lib. i., c. 68.
IDEM.—Artachæes, who was the tallest of the Persians, wanted but four finger, of five royal cubits, and was also remarkable for his great strength of voice.—Herodt., lib. vii., c. 117.
PLINY.—The tallest man that has been seen in our time was one Gabbaras by name, who was brought from Arabia by the Emperor Claudius; his height was nine feet and as many inches.—Nat. Hut., lib. vii., c. 16.
JOSEPHUS.—Artabanus also, not long afterward, sent (to Tiberius Cæsar) his son Darius as an hostage with many presents, among which there was a man seven cubits tall, a Jew he was by birth, and his name was Eleazar, who for his tallness was called a giant.—Antiguities, B. XVIII., c. 4, § 4.
PLOTT.—A man named John Middleton was born at Hale, near Warrington, Lancashire, England, in the reign of James 1, whose hand, from the carpus to the end of the middle finger, was 17 inches, his palm 8½ inches broad, and his whole height 9 feet 3 inches.-In Comp. Comt.
1 Sam. 17:5-7.—And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron, and one bearing a shield went before him.
HOMER gives the following description of his heroes:
With generous ardor press'd,
In arms terrific their huge limbs they dress'd;
A two-edged falchion, Thrasymed the brave,
And ample buckler, to Tydides gave;
Then in a leathern helm he cased his head,
Short of its crest, and with no plume o'erspread.
—Iliad 1. x., v. 254.
Stern Telamon behind his ample shield,
As from a brazen tower, o'erlooked the field.
Huge was its orb, with seven thick folds o'ercast,
Of tough bull hides, of solid brass the last
—Iliad, 1. vii., v. 219.
Far o'er the plains, in dreadful order bright,
The brazen arms reflect a beamy light:
Full in the blazing van great Hector shined,
Like man commissioned to confound mankind.
Before him flaming, his enormous shield,
Like the broad sun, illumined all the field.
—Iliad, 1. xiii., v. 800.
A train of heroes follow'd through the field,.
Who bore by turns great Ajax' seven-fold shield,
Whene'er he breathed, remissive of his might,
Tired with th' incessant slaughters of the fight.
—Iliad, 1. xiii., v. 709.
A spear the Hero bore of wondrous strength,
Eleven cubits was the lance's length;
The steely point with golden ringlets join'd,
Before him brandished, at each motion shined.
—Iliad, 1. vi., v. 319.
1 Sam. 17: 8-10.—And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a than for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.
REV. THOMAS S. MILLINGTON, B. A.—Numerous instances of similar contests, in which the fate of an army or nation was made to depend upon the issue of a single combat, are recorded in ancient history. It may be sufficient to refer to that of Paris and Hector.—Test. of Heath., p. 186.
LIVY.—Let us, in the name of the gods (said the Albans to Tullus Hostilius), pursue some method whereby, without great loss, without much blood of either nation, it may be decided which shall have dominion over the other. The Horatii and Curiatii were accordingly appointed to fight in the presence of both armies, and the Curiatii being vanquished the Albans submitted to the Romans, —Livy, 1. i., c. 23.
IDEM. —A Gaul of a stature remarkably large advanced on the bridge then unoccupied, and with a loud voice cried out, Let the bravest man that Rome cat produce come forth here to battle that the event of a combat between us two may determine which of the nations is to be held superior in war.—Livy, lib. vii., c. 10.
1 Sam. 17:11, 32, 42.—When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. And David said unto Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
STATI US.—
Argolic Capaneus uprose,
Fierce to descry, more fierce to be descried;
And, while upon his arm the gloves he tied,
Cut out of new bull hides, and cased with lead,
As hard as they, exultingly he said:
Stands there a man amongst your num'rous crew,
Here let him issue forth in public view!
He said, and ceased. Fear held them mute, they gaze
In stupid wonder, and in wild amaze.
At length, Alcidamas, from 'midst the train
Of naked Spartans, springs forth on the plain.
Him Capaneus derides with threat'ning hands,
And, pitying, a more equal foe demands:
E'en forc'd to combat, his proud soul rebels,
And his late languid neck with fury swells.
Such space of limbs the chief of Argos shows,
And staring bones as Tityos might disclose.
The Spartan (for his strength exceeds his years),
In look a boy, in act a man appears.
—Thebais, 1. vi., v. 731.
1 Sam. 17:44.—And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto, the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
LIVY.—The Prætor Martius said,—To fishes, and birds, and beasts of prey inhabiting the earth, to these thy flesh be food.—Livy, lib. 25., c. 12.
REV. JOSEPH ROBERTS.—The rodomontade of Goliath is still (in the East) the favorite way of terrifying an enemy. "Begone, or I will give thy flesh to the jackals!” "The crows shall soon have thy carcass." "Yes, the teeth of the dogs shall soon have hold of thee." "The eagles are ready."—Oriental Illustrations, p. 165.
1 Sam. 17:48, 49.—And it came to pass that when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
STRABO.—When the forces of the Epeii and the Ætolians were drawn up in array against each other, there advanced in front, and engaged in single combat, according to the ancient custom of the Greeks, Pyræchmes, Ætolian, and Degmenus, an Epeian: the latter was armed with a bow, and thought to vanquish easily from a distance a heavy-armed soldier; the former, when he perceived the stratagem of his adversary, provided himself with a sling, and a scrip filled with stones. This kind of sling happened also to have been lately invented by the Ætolians. As a sling reaches its object at a greater distance than a bow, Degmenus fell, and the Ætolian took possession of the country, and ejected the Epeii.—Strabo, 1. Viii., c. 3.
DIODORUS SICULUS.—The people of the Balearic islands throw stones with their slings with as much violence as if they were shot out of an engine: with these they break in pieces their enemies' shields, helmets, and all their defensive armor. They are such exact marksmen that they never miss their aim. This skill they attain by habitual practice from their childhood.—Diod. Sic., 1. v., c. 1.
IDEM.—The people of Ægium, Patræ, and Dymæ were exercised from their childhood in throwing with a sling into the sea the round pebbles which generally cover the shores; and by this means they acquire such a degree of dexterity, as to cast weapons of that sort to a greater distance, with surer aim, and more powerful effect than even the Balearian clingers. Being accustomed to drive their bullets through circular marks of small circumference, placed at a great distance, they not only hit the enemy's head, but any part of the face that they aim at.—Diod. Sic., 1. xxxviii., c. 29.
LUCAN. —
Sure aiming, from his Balearic thong,
Bold Ligdamus a ponderous bullet slung;
Through liquid air the ball shrill whistling flies,
And cuts its way through hapless Tyrrhen's eyes.
Th' astonished youth stands struck with sudden night,
While bursting start the bleeding orbs of sight.
—Pharsalia, I. iii., v. 709.
1 Sam. 17:54.—And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.
REV. THOMAS S. MILLINGTON, B. A.—Heads were always regarded as the best trophies of victory, not only in the East, but among the rude nations of the North and the West. Sometimes the skulls were preserved as the tokens of a warrior's prowess, as scalps are now by the Indians; they were even made into drinking-cups and other vessels, and used by the victors at their feasts.—Test. of Heath., p. 189.
LIVY.—Cornelius Cossus, having slain Tolummius, cut off his head, and carried it about on the point of his spear, as a trophy of the victory.—Livy, l. iv., c. 19.
IDEM.—The Gallic horsemen came in sight, carrying the heads of the slain, some hanging before their horses' breasts, others on the points of their spears, and expressing their triumph in songs according to their custom.—Livy, l. x., C. 26.
1 Sam. 18:6, 7.—And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music. And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
AUSTEN H. LAYARD, M. P.—On both these slabs were represented the Assyrian army returning from its victorious campaign, and bringing to the king the captives and the spoil.... The Assyrian generals were welcomed by bands of men and women, dancing, singing, and playing on instruments of music. We find from various passages in the Scriptures, that the instruments of music chiefly used on such triumphant occasions were the harp, the tabor, and the pipe, precisely those represented in the bas-reliefs.... The musicians were accompanied by six women, and nine boys and girls of different ages, singing and clapping their hands to the measure.—Nineveh and Babylon, p. 388.
REV. JOSEPH ROBERTS.—When a great man is expected, the people of the village always send the tabrets and pipes to meet him.—Oriental Illustrations, p. 166.
Consecrated Arms
1 Sam. 21:9.—And the priests said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that, give it me.
DR. JOHN KITTO.—It was a custom among the ancients to dedicate to the gods some conspicuous part of the enemy's spoils; a relic of which is preserved in the European custom of depositing in churches standards captured in war.—Pict. Bib. In loco.
HOMER.—
If mine the glory to despoil the foe,
On Phoebus' temple I'll his arms bestow.
—Iliad, VII., 8I.
QUINTILIAN.—It is a question whether the man who makes use of weapons that are consecrated in the temple, in order to oppose the invaders of his country, is to be considered guilty of sacrilege. —Quintil., 1. v., c. 10.
Feigned Madness
1 Sam. 21:13.—And David changed his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.
PLUTARCH.—Solon that he might escape the penalty denounced against those who should incite the Athenians to war, feigned himself mad.—Solon, c. 8.
CICERO.—The tragedians accuse Ulysses of wishing to escape from military service by the affectation of insanity.—De Officiis, 1. Iii., c. 26.
Cave of Adullam
1 Sam. 22:1.—David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam.
REV. A. BONAR.—The cave of Adullam was not very far from Engedi, and was very near the birth-place of David. Though not quite certainly, yet with very great probability, this cave has of late years been identified with one near Bethlehem; and if this be correct, David, from his earliest years, would know it as a place of resort. This caverned spot is near the village called Khureitum. The cave is reached only by climbing a precipitous ascent, the full height of which is a thousand feet. Half way up you find a slope that leads off to a ledge of rocks; along this ledge you must walk for half a mile, sometimes creeping under projecting crags, sometimes over them; at one time stepping over a gap, at another pressing through a fissure, all the while conscious that you have nearly six hundred feet of perpendicular rock below you! When you reach the entrance at the end of this ledge, you find it guarded by two masses of rock, over which you make your way into the cavern, and are soon lost in an innumerable succession of chambers. Each of these chambers is a sort of hall, in which you might imagine the rocks to be gothic pillars, they are so arranged. The whole of this mountain of rock seems to be honey-combed: it is all natural excavation. No one has explored more than five hundred yards of it, though the natives believe that the cave reaches as far south as Hebron. Some of the chambers are only a few feet high, others are like the inside of a church. It was here, we believe, that David found a safe retreat from Saul.—Palestine for the Young.
DR. W. M. THOMSON.—Having passed eastward of Tekoa, we descended a shallow wady for about a mile to some curious old buildings which overhang the tremendous gorge of Wady Urtas, there called Khureitum, which is also the name of the ruins. Leaving our horses in charge of wild Arabs, arid taking one for a guide, we started for the cave, having a fearful gorge below, gigantic cliffs above, and the path winding along a shelf of the rock, narrow enough to make the nervous among us shudder. At length from a great rock hanging on the edge of this shelf, we sprang by a long leap into a low window which opened into the perpendicular face of the cliff. We were then within the hold of David, and, creeping half doubled through a narrow crevice for a few rods, we stood beneath the dark vault of the first grand chamber of this mysterious and oppressive cavern. Our whole collection of lights did but little more than make the damp darkness visible. After groping about as long as we had time to spare, we returned to the light of day, fully convinced that, with David and his lionhearted followers inside, all the strength of Israel under Saul could not have forced an entrance-would not have even attempted it. I see no reason to disturb the tradition which makes this “the hold" into which David retired with his father's house, and his faithful followers, when he fled from Gath. The Land and the Book, Vol. II., p. 424.
PROF. H. B. HACKETT, D. D., LL. D.—No one who has seen the cave of Khureitun can have any doubt of its fitness to be such a place of refuge as the cave of Adullam evidently was to David and his followers.—Smith's Dict. of Bible, p. 35.
En-Gedi
1 Sam. 24:1-3.—It was told Saul, saying, Behold David is in the wilderness of En-gedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. And he came by the sheep-cotes by the way, where was a cave: and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.
DR. W. M. THOMSON.—On the western shore of the Dead Sea is 'Ain Jidy—the " En-gedi " of the Bible. It is situated in a wild ravine, and the cliffs on either side are full of natural and artificial caves and sepulchers. In the account of Saul's pursuit of David to En-gedi, two circumstances are mentioned which are worthy of passing remark. The first is, that there were sheep-cotes there in connection with the cave into which Saul retired. I have seen hundreds of them around the mouth of caverns, and, indeed, there is scarcely a cave in the land, whose location will admit of being thus occupied, but has such a " cote" in front of it, generally made by piling up loose stones into a circular wall, which is covered with thorns as a further protection against robbers and wild beasts. During cold storms, and in the night, the flocks retreat into the cave, but at other times they remain in this enclosed cote. The cavern may have been full of them when the king entered, nor would his presence disturb them-as I have found on many occasions-while their constant tramping about the sleeping Saul would have rendered the approach of David wholly unnoticed. I have had them step over me when resting in such caves, and have seen them actually tramp on their sleeping shepherd without disturbing his slumbers. Moreover, these caverns are as dark as midnight, and the keenest eye cannot see five paces inward; but one who has been long within, and is looking outward toward the entrance, can observe with perfect distinctness all that takes place in that direction. David, therefore, could watch Saul as he came in, and notice the exact place where he "covered his feet," while he could see nothing but impenetrable darkness. The other fact is, that the cliffs about En-gedi were then called " the rocks of the wild goats," and from them, doubtless, the place received its name, En-gedi, i. e., The Fountain of the Goats. Now it is a remarkable and pleasing circumstance that these bold and hardy dwellers upon the rocks are still found in the wild ravines about 'Ain Jidy. I have seen the skin and powerful horns of one that was shot there by an Arab hunter.—The Land and the Book, II., 419-421.
1 Sam. 24:5, 6.—And it came to pass afterward that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.
PLUTARCH—The majesty of the kings of Sparta was held in such veneration, even by their enemies, that they scrupled to strike them, even when they had an opportunity of doing so in battle. —Agesilaus, C. 21.
PLINY.—The king of Taprobane, if he is found guilty of any offense, is condemned to death; but no one slays him; all turn their backs upon him, and refuse to hold any communication with him.—Hist. Nat., 1. vi., c. 24.
Nabal
1 Sam. 25:2.—And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Cannel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
DR. ROBINSON.—The ruins of Carmel, now called Kurmul, still remain at ten miles below Hebron, close to those of Maon, now called Main, and Ziph, now known as ZIA and other places named in Scripture.—See Researches, Vol. I., 494, etc.
Sam. 25: 4-9.—And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. And David sent out ten young men, and David said to the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: and thus shall ye say, etc.
DR. ROBINSON.—We were here in the midst of scenes memorable of old for the adventures of David during his wanderings in order to escape from the jealousy of Saul; and we did not fail to peruse here, and with the deepest interest, the chapters of Scripture which record those wanderings and adventures. Ziph and Maon gave their name to the desert on the east, as did Engedi; and twice did the inhabitants of Ziph endeavor to betray the youthful outlaw to the vengeance of his persecutor. At that time David and his men appear to have been very much in the condition of similar outlaws at the present day. They lurked in these deserts, associating with the shepherds and herds men of Nabal and others, and doing them good offices, probably in return for information and supplies obtained through them. Hence when Nabal held his annual sheep-shearing in Carmel, David felt himself entitled to share in the festival, and sent a message recounting his own services, and asking for a present. “Wherefore let the young men find favor in thine eyes; for we come in a good day; give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David." In all these particulars we were deeply struck with the truth and strength of the Biblical descriptions of manners and customs, almost identically the same as they exist at the present day. On such a festive occasion near a town or village, even in our own time, an Arab sheikh of the neighboring desert would hardly fail to put in a word, either in person or by message; and his message, both in form and substance, would be only a transcript of that of David.—Researches, as quoted in Pictorial Bible.
Saul Asleep in Camp
1 Sam. 26:6, 7, 12.—Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee. So David and Abishai came to the people by night: arid, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster; but Abner and the people lay round about him.... So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep.
REV. W. M. THOMSON, D. D.—I noticed at all the encampments which we passed that the sheikh's tent was distinguished from the rest by a tall spear stuck upright in the ground in front of it; and it is the custom, when a party is out on an excursion for robbery or for war, that when they halt to rest, the spot where the chief reclines or sleeps is thus designated. So Saul, when he lay sleeping, had his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster, and Abner and the people lay round about him. The whole of that scene is eminently oriental and perfectly natural, even to the deep sleep into which all had fallen, so that David and Abishai could walk among them in safety. The Arabs sleep heavily, especially when fatigued. Often when traveling, my muleteers and servants have resolved to watch by turns in places thought to be dangerous, but in every instance I soon found them fast asleep, and generally their slumbers were so profound that I could not only walk among them without their waking, but might have stolen the very aba with which they were covered. Then the cruse of water at Saul's head is in exact accordance with the customs of the people at this day. No one ventures to travel over these deserts without his cruse of water, and it is very common to place one at the “bolster," so that the owner can reach it during the night. The Arabs eat their dinner in the evening, and it is generally of such a nature as to create thirst, and the quantity of water which they drink is enormous. The cruse is, therefore, in perpetual demand. Saul and his party lay, in a shady valley, steeped in heavy sleep, after the fatigues of a hot day. The camp-ground of Sheikh Fareij, in. Wady Shukaiyif, is adapted in all respects to be the scene of the adventure.—The Land and the Book, 'Vol. II., p. 20.
1 Sam. 26:13, 14—Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off; a great space being between them: and David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king? And David said, etc.
REV. JOHN KITTO D. D., F. S. A.—In this and other instances, persons are described as addressing the people "afar off," and from the top of hills, so that we are sometimes surprised to think how it was possible for them to be heard. We do not remember ever to have met with any attempt to explain this, save in the following interesting passage from Hough's Letters on the Nielgherries: " The great extent to which the sound of the voice is conveyed has been thought by some persons to be a proof of the extreme rarity of the atmosphere. A similar observation is made by Captain Parry in his Voyage of Discovery to the Polar Regions 1819-20, where he states, that in the depth of winter the sound of the men's voices was heard at a much greater distance than usual. This phenomenon is constantly observed on the Nielgherries, or Blue Mountains of Coimbatore, in South India. I have heard the natives, especially in the morning and evening, when the air was still, carry on conversations from one hill to another, and that apparently without any extraordinary effort. They do not shout in the manner that strangers think necessary, in order to be heard at so great a distance; but utter every syllable as distinctly as if they were conversing face to face. When listening to them, I have often been reminded of those passages of Holy Writ where it is recorded that Jotham addressed the ungrateful people of Shechem from Mount Gerizim. In the dense atmosphere of England, and even in the purer air of the plains of India, it is not easy to imagine how a discourse could be carried on at so great a distance and from such an eminence; but on the Nielgherries the portions of sacred history to which I have referred receive a striking illustration."—Pictorial Bible, In loco.
Battle of Gilboa
1 Sam. 28:4.—And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa.
DR. W. M. THOMSON.—This Sulam (the ancient Shunem) affords an admirable camp-ground for a large army; Jebel ed Dilly rising abruptly behind, and the top of it commanding a perfect view of the great plain in every direction, so that there could be no surprise, nor could their march be impeded or their retreat cut off. The Land and the Book, II., p. 168.
PROF. J. LESLIE PORTER, M. A.—Of the identity of Gilboa with the ridge that stretches eastward from the ruins, of Jezreel, no doubt can be entertained. At the northern base, half a mile from the ruins, is a large fountain, called in Scripture the fountain of Jezreel. The village is now called Jelbon, and its position answers to the description of Eusebius; it is situated on the top of the mountain. The range of Gilboa extends in length some ten miles from east to west.—Smith's Dict. of the Bible, p. 923.
1 Sam. 28:7, 8.—Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servants said unto him, Behold there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night.
MR. GEORGE GROVE, Cryst. Pal.—The rock of the mountain, on the slope of which Endur stands, is hollowed into caves, one of which may well have been the scene of the incantation of the witch. The distance from the slopes of Gilboa to Endor is seven or eight miles.—Smith's Dict. of Bible, p. 734.
PROF. H. B. TRISTRAM, LL. D., F. R. S.—As we approached Endor we could fancy the very walk Saul took over the eastern shoulder of the hill to reach the witch's abode, skirting Little Hermon, on the front slopes of which the Philistines were encamped, in order to reach the village behind them, a long and weary distance from his own army, by the Fountain of Jezreel, on the side of Gilboa. It might be fancy, but the place has a strange, weird-like aspect—a miserable village on the north side of the hill, without a tree or a shrub to relieve the squalor of its decaying heaps. It is full of caves, and the mud-built hovels are stuck on to the sides of the rocks in clusters and are, for the most part, a mere continuation and enlargement of the cavern behind, and which forms the larger portion of this human den.—The Land of Israel, p. 228.
LIEUT. S. ANDERSON, R. E.—We can trace exactly the adventurous journey Saul had the night before his death, from Jezreel, across the vale, in the greatest peril of capture by the Philistines, whose camp he was stealthily avoiding, and round the shoulder of the opposite hill to the village of Endor, at the back of the hill, six and a half miles distant from his palace. Here, in one of the numerous caves which are still inhabited, the witch of Endor lived.—Survey of Palestine, in Recovery of Jerusalem, p. 357.
1 Sam. 28:11.—Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
MAXIMUS TYRIUS.—When he who came to consult the oracle had offered prayers and performed sacrifices and libations, he called upon the shade of any one he pleased, whether of his ancestors or Of his friends; which being done, an indistinct form, scarcely to be seen or recognized, appeared, which nevertheless possessed the power of speech and the gift of divination.—Dissertations, 26.
STRABO.—The magicians were supposed to communicate ordinances and precepts from the gods, both during their life-time and after their death; as, for example, Teiresias, to whom alone, according to Homer, Proserpine gave wisdom and understanding after death. The others flit about like shadows.— Strabo, 1. xvi., c. 2.
PLINY.—According to what Osthanes tells us, there are numerous sorts of magic. It is practiced with water, for instance, with balls, by the aid of the air, of the stars, of lamps, basins, hatchets and numerous other appliances—means by which it engages to grant a foreknowledge of things to come, as well as converse with ghosts and. spirits of the dead. Apion asserts that he himself had raised the spirits of the dead in order to make inquiry of Homer in reference to his native country and his parents; but he dares not, he tells us, disclose the answer he received.—Hist. Nat., 1. xxx., c. 5.
1 Sam. 31:1.—Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in Mount Gilboa.
PROF. H. B. HACKETT, D. D., LL. D.—The account of the battle, which was so disastrous to the Hebrew king, designates not merely the general scene of the action, but various places connected with the movements of the armies, and introduced in such a way as to be in some measure strategetically related to each other. It is worthy of notice, as a corroboration of the Scripture narrative, that all these places, except possibly one of them, are still found to exist under their ancient names and to occupy precisely the situation with reference to each other which the requirements of the history imply... All these places, so interwoven in the network of the story, and clearly identified after the lapse of so many centuries, lie almost within sight of each other. A person may start from any one of them and make the circuit of them all in a few hours. The date assigned to this battle is B. C. 2055, later but a little than the traditionary age of the siege of Troy. It is seldom that a record of remote events can be subjected to so severe a scrutiny as this.—Smith's Dict. of Bible, p. 923, 924.
1 Sam. 31:4.—Then said Saul unto his armor-bearer, Draw thy sword and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.
PLUTARCH.—Young Crassus, after his defeat by the Parthians, offered his side to his armor-bearer, and ordered him to strike the blow. Censorinus is said to have died in the same manner.—.M. Crassus, c. 25.
QUINTUS CURTIUS.—Having commanded Bubaces to be called, “Go," said Darius, "consult your own safety, having continued faithful to your king to the last, as it became you. I will await here the decree of my fate: Perhaps you wonder that I do not put an end to my existence? I choose to die by another man's crime rather than by my own."—Q. Curt., 1. v., c. 22.
1 Sam. 31:10.—And they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
MR. GEORGE GROVE, Crystal Palace.—This place is still called by its old Semitic name, Beisan. It lies in the Ghor, or Jordan Valley, about twelve miles south of the Sea of Galilee, and four miles west of the Jordan. The site of the town is on the brow of the descent by which the great plain of Esdraelon drops down into the level of the GHor. A few miles to the southwest are the mountains of Gilboa, and close beside the town runs the water of the Fountain of Jezreel.—Smith's Dict. of the Bible, p. 298.
DIODORUS SICULUS.—The Gauls, as the chief of their spoils, fasten those that they have killed over the doors of their houses, as if they were so many wild beasts taken in hunting.—Lib. v., c. 2.
TACITUS.—The head of Galba, miserably mangled and stuck upon a pole by a rabble of the vile scullions and attendants of the camp, was by them erected over the tomb of Patrobius, a slave of Nero's, whom Galba had executed.— Histor., 1. i., c. 49.
1 Sam. 31:11, 12.—And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.
DR. W. M. THOMSON.—Beitsan is naturally one of the strongest places even in this country of strongholds. The Tell, or its Acropolis, rises about two hundred feet high, with the sides nearly perpendicular. A strong wall was carried round the summit, and the gateway was high up the steep declivity at the northwest angle. In the huge buttresses of this gateway are built fragments of columns, and handsome Corinthian capitals. It was on the wall of this Tell, I suppose, that the bodies of Saul and his sons were fastened by the Philistines after the battle on Gilboa; and this supposition enables us to understand how the men of Jabesh-Gilead could execute their daring exploit of carrying them away. Jabesh-Gilead was on the mountain east of the Jordan, in full view of Bethshan, and these brave men could creep up to the Tell, along Wady Jalûd, without being seen, while the deafening roar of the brook would render it impossible for them to be heard. I have often been delighted with this achievement. —The Land and the Book, Vol. II., p. 174.